Mullen & Kayani Attempt to Salvage US-Pak Relationship

[53fd]

Mullen just wants to force the ISI into attacking the Haqqani Network. He really has no proof implicating the ISI, but these are his pressure tactics to malign the ISI & force it into action.

 

[Guest01]

whatever he says we don't care ..... the bottom line is we ain't give them way out that easily ....... USA is changing the tactics to get out from afghanistan by preasurerising pakistan govt and arm forces .... and as if we gonna start operation in north wazaristan ........did they start operation in kandhar no they never did then give us a break and get the f*** outta here

Czn't you see. US is not trying to get out of afganistan. What they are trying now is to get into pakistan.

 

[53fd]

Btw, the ISI response to Mullen's statements can be found here:

http://www.defence.pk/forums/pakist...mullens-isi-taliban-accusations-baseless.html

 

[jahangeer yousaf]

Czn't you see. US is not trying to get out of afganistan. What they are trying now is to get into pakistan.

undoubtly right i agree ........ but i quoted what obama said ............. if they want to go back to USA in boxes then they are all welcome

 

[KS]

Its good that the Pakistani people keep living in denial that there is nothing wrong with their Army and ISI's activities and everyone out there is trying to get them and these are all a part of that.

 

[President Camacho]

This is a really funny news. In fact all the news where the US alleges the ISI of harboring terrorists or keeping links with them, gives me such laughter. There are very few countries in this small world that are stung by the terrorism emanating from the Afghan-Pakistan border. India is one of them. Till it did not hurt the US, Indian intelligence agencies were enthusiastically blocked by both, the US and the UK from getting to the funding grounds in those countries. They (the papers in those days) used to say those terrorist (only for India) organizations had their headquarters in London and New Jersey. And India was never entertained, at least not officially.

Thus, by blocking Pakistan's arch rival India, the US gave clear hint (more of a shout) that Pakistan should keep feeding the terrorists or so called Mujahids for whatever reason they want, and we won't say a thing. Now, at the hidden consent of the US, a well fed monster has grown big enough to snipe and bite the US itself... oh so now it's a terrorist organization!

But it's not all fun all the way. It is a well known fact that every intelligence agency works in tandem with (powerful) anti-social elements, so as to get those dirty jobs done that may require breaking/twisting of law. The ISI has invested decades and I guess unimaginable amount of money and manpower in forging its links with these so called terrorist organizations. Two decades and heavy price to buy such influence in the region. And now the very one that abetted, encouraged, and aided this influence, is alleging of such links?

Quite an allegation!

Anyone sitting outside the US and Pakistan would find these developments very interesting... before turning to the sports section. That's all.

 

[53fd]

Its good that the Pakistani people keep living in denial that there is nothing wrong with their Army and ISI's activities and everyone out there is trying to get them and these are all a part of that.

The fact is that the Western powers definitely have their vested interests in the region, & they'll do whatever it takes to achieve them, even if it means maligning the Army & the intelligence services.

 

[Guest01]

Just pressure tactics .... They want ISI again to help US after those murder of Maliks by US strike... And the best it can do is by showing sympathy to Indians thats why he talked about LeT.

I think pakistani army realizes that the situation is past pressure tactics currently. Reading Mullen's lips, i would put my money on Kayani toning down the rhetoric progressively and let regular service resume. Pakistan has surely nothing to lose from withdrawal of US support. Every nation can take care of itself. The problem is that pakistani army needs US as existential lifeline. Without the aid that is being spent on arms and nice facilities for the pakistani army officers, good things in life will be hostage to the bloody civilians. That may not appeal to the pakistani army officers much. So i am sure that soon kayani will realize the diminishing returns on this jingoism and all willl go back to happy drone hunting. Season is upcoming again.

 

[madooxno9]

 

[mjnaushad]

Its good that the Pakistani people keep living in denial that there is nothing wrong with their Army and ISI's activities and everyone out there is trying to get them and these are all a part of that.

So now why are you not believing Pakistan Military and want me to believe Indian Military no cold start (your Post).... So much double standard.


Also accusing and proving are two different things... US also accused Iraq of WMDs... Still waiting for those Thousands of WMDs.

 

[KS]

So now why are you not believing Pakistan Military and want me to believe Indian Military no cold start (your Post).... So much double standard.


Also accusing and proving are two different things... US also accused Iraq of WMDs... Still waiting for those Thousands of WMDs.

There is a difference friend. If you think about it you will know. While the mythical Cold Start is just on paper, nothing proved on ground, not practiced once WHILE Pakistan Army and ISI's collusion with 'strategic assests is well known'.

 

[foxhound]

ref:Pakistani official disputes claim of ISI-insurgent 'relationship' - CNN.com

Pakistani official disputes claim of ISI-insurgent 'relationship'By the CNN Wire StaffApril 21, 2011 -- Updated 0718 GMT (1518 HKT)
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen, shown above. Pakistani officials have dismissed claims.STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Adm. Mike Mullen said ISI has "longstanding relationship" with the Haqqani Network
A senior Pakistani intelligence official says that relationship is "that of an adversary"
"Onus of providing proof on this" rests with the Americans, the official says
Despite strain, Mullen says leaders "are very committed to working our way through this"
(CNN) -- Responding to an allegation by the U.S. chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that Pakistan's main intelligence agency has a "longstanding relationship" with a Taliban-allied insurgent group that targets U.S. troops in Afghanistan, a senior Pakistani intelligence official said: "We do have a relationship: that of an adversary."

"We have made our resolve very clear that (the Haqqani Network) is an enemy we need to fight together," said the official, who did not want to be identified discussing intelligence matters.

In an interview that aired Wednesday on Pakistan's Geo TV, Adm. Michael Mullen spoke forcefully about the Haqqani Network, which he said "very specifically facilitates and supports the Taliban who move in Afghanistan, and they're killing Americans."

"I can't accept that and I will do everything I possibly can to prevent that specifically," he said.

Then Mullen said Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence "has a longstanding relationship with the Haqqani Network. That doesn't mean everybody in the ISI, but it's there."

"I also have an understanding that the ISI and the (Pakistani military) exist to protect their own citizens, and there's a way they have done that for a long period of time," Mullen said. "I believe that over time, that's got to change."



The new threat to U.S. forces? RELATED TOPICS
Pakistan
Based in Pakistan's North Waziristan frontier, the Haqqani Network "has been at the forefront of insurgent activity in Afghanistan, responsible for many high-profile attacks," according to the United Nations. The group is believed to have three main sources of funds: donations from the Persian Gulf region, drug trafficking, and al Qaeda payments.

Pakistani forces in December announced they had seized Nasiruddin Haqqani, son of the group's leader, Jalaluddin Haqqani.

Other U.S. officials in recent months had expressed concerns that Pakistan has not been aggressively confronting militants operating in the tribal regions.

The Pakistani intelligence official told CNN that "we have our hands full" fighting other Islamist militant groups along the border with Afghanistan, notably those under the umbrella of the Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) "and once we are through with them we can turn on the other (the Haqqanis). We do not have the capacity to undertake simultaneous operations."

The official said the "onus of providing proof of this" relationship was on the Americans and it was not up to the ISI "to start providing clarification."

Asked if offense was taken by Mullen's remarks, the intelligence official said: "Not personally, no."

Earlier in the Geo TV interview, Mullen was pressed on issues such as the arrest of CIA contractor Raymond Davis and unmanned drone strikes against targets within Pakistan, which have marked what he called a "rough patch" of increasingly complex relations between the two nations in recent months.

The admiral traced the difficulties back to the 12-year period in which the two countries had severed diplomatic ties, then restored them in the midst of the global terrorism crisis that followed the attacks of September 11, 2001.

"We can't snap our fingers and say all of the sudden we trust each other," he said, "and that's what we're trying to work our way through in the midst of these huge terrorist challenges that we both have."

"It's the focus from the United States' perspective on the terrorist threat (in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas), the al Qaeda leadership which still lives there and still threatens to kill as many Americans as they possibly could, combined with what I would call this federation of terrorist organizations that are getting along more than they used to, and at least from my experience ... the complexity is increasing, not decreasing."

As Joint Chiefs chairman, Mullen is the highest-ranking uniformed official in the U.S. military's chain of command. He has been part of recent discussions that have included CIA Director Leon Panetta and their Pakistani counterparts: Chief of Army Staff Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and the ISI's director, Lt. Gen. Ahmad Shuja Pasha.

Mullen's term is set to end this year.

"It's been a very rough patch lately," Mullen said, "and I think the leaders, including Generals Pasha and Kayani, Director Panetta and myself and others are very committed to working our way through this because we see the need to solve this problem, and we just can't walk away from it."

ref:Pakistan army chief defends anti-militant struggle | Pakistan | DAWN.COM

Pakistan army chief defends anti-militant struggleAP(3 hours ago) TodayGen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani statement was issued after the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff accused Pakistan’s military-run spy agency of links to a powerful militant faction fighting in Afghanistan. — Reuters Photo

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani army on Thursday rejected the notion that it was not doing enough to fight militants, hours after the top US military officer accused the country’s military-run spy agency of continued links to a powerful Taliban faction fighting in Afghanistan.

The back and forth reflected the unusually poor state of relations between the two counter-terrorism allies, which sunk to new lows after an American CIA contractor in January shot two Pakistanis he said were trying to rob him.

While on one hand both US and Pakistani officials have spoken of the need to keep the partnership intact, especially as Washington looks for a way out of Afghanistan, officials from both countries have also made strong, even harsh, statements defending their actions.

While visiting Pakistan on Wednesday, Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, told a private TV channel that he would bring up the issue of Pakistan’s ties to the militant Haqqani network when he saw Pakistani army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.

The Haqqani network is a powerful, largely independent Afghan Taliban faction with bases in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal region. It is considered one of the most lethal fighting forces battling US and NATO troops in Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s military-run Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency forged links to the network’s leaders that date back to the 1980s Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. But after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Pakistan has insisted it has cut its ties to the network.

Still, many analysts and US officials suspect Pakistan may be trying to retain its links to the Haqqanis so that it can use them as a means of retaining influence in Afghanistan, and keeping a bulwark against archrival India, after the Americans leave.

“The ISI has a long-standing relationship with the Haqqani network, that doesn’t mean everybody in the ISI but it’s there. I believe over time that has got to change,” Mullen said in the private TV channel interview.

In a statement issued after he saw Mullen, Kayani did not mention the Haqqanis, and said both sides were determined not to let their relationship collapse.

But he rejected “negative propaganda of Pakistan not doing enough,” and pointed to its multiple military offensives against various insurgent groups as evidence of Pakistan’s “national resolve to defeat terrorism.”

Kayani also slammed the ongoing US missile strikes in Pakistan. Those strikes almost always hit North Waziristan, where the Haqqanis are based and the one tribal region along the Afghan border where Pakistan has not staged an offensive despite US pleas.

Pakistan has long denounced the drone-fired missile strikes as violations of its sovereignty, but the South Asian nation is widely believed to secretly cooperate with at least some of the attacks.

In recent weeks, however, Kayani has spoken out against the strikes. In mid-March, he issued a strong statement denouncing on such attack after it killed nearly 40 people. While the US insisted the group consisted of militants, Kayani said dozens of mostly innocent tribesmen died.

That strike came the day after the US secured the release of American CIA contractor Raymond Davis by paying the families of the two shooting victims’ so-called “blood money.” The Davis case badly strained relations, with Pakistan refusing to take a stand on whether Davis had diplomatic immunity from prosecution as the US embassy claimed.

 

[foxbat]

Btw, the ISI response to Mullen's statements can be found here:

http://www.defence.pk/forums/pakist...mullens-isi-taliban-accusations-baseless.html

Only in rare instances, the perpetrators of a crime admit to it on the 1st go..

 

[khurasaan1]

Azz.... since a decade u cant control kabul....... or find WMDs in iraq or stop insurgency n alqaeda in Iraq........... n finally ur govt is talking with taliban.............. n u blame ur failures on ur dad=Pakistan.......

In the bagain deal we will need a place for our Army base in US and Europe...to protect us...from US..ummm

 

[mjnaushad]

There is a difference friend. If you think about it you will know. While the mythical Cold Start is just on paper, nothing proved on ground, not practiced once WHILE Pakistan Army and ISI's collusion with 'strategic assests is well known'.

Well accused... Never proved... If ISI was helping taliban why we handed over top Taliban and Al-qaeda leaders. Also if are helping why are they giving us aid and weapons and not putting ISI in black list. US is using ISI as scapegoat for its own failure.